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About 90 percent of self-insured employers say they “don’t plan to move any" of their insured workers to public exchanges, which are making their debut this fall under the Affordable Care Act, a national business coalition said.

The Midwest Business Group on Health report showed employers had no plans to move workers to either public or private exchanges in the “immediate future.” The survey, which had responses from mostly large companies with more than 5,000 workers, did have a small number of employers with fewer than 500 workers. Just four percent of those respondents, mostly small firms, “anticipate moving either their part-time or retiree populations over to the public marketplace,” Midwest Business Group said.

The report comes less than a month before individuals will have an opportunity to choose health plans via online marketplaces known as exchanges under the health law. Eligible uninsured individuals will receive subsidies of up to about $5,000 to buy private coverage. Open enrollment for individuals eligible for this coverage begins October 1 and runs for six months for broader coverage that begins Jan. 1, 2014.

“About 90% of the responding employers said they don’t plan to move employees and their dependents to either public marketplaces or private exchanges in the near future,” Larry Boress, president and chief executive officer of the Midwest Business Group said.

While public exchanges are the place where uninsured will go to buy coverage, an increasing number of employers are also partnering with private exchanges. The private exchanges work like the public efforts in that they offer consumers more choices plus people who buy coverage are “empowered to make the choice that is right for each individual,” benefits consultants say.

In the private exchange concept, each employer in the exchange decides on the subsidy or “credit” that each worker will get to purchase coverage. Then, the employees take to the exchange to select their coverage. The subsidy will vary from employer to employer.

But all of these efforts are complicated and require additional education, the Midwest Business Group on Health survey indicated.

“A majority of employers said they have received questions from employees asking how their benefits will be impacted by health care reform,” Boress said. “With so many changes underway, there is a need for expanded employee education, such as how their benefits may be changing and if they are eligible to obtain tax credits in the exchanges.”